How do your students address you?

[Gauche]

What do you let your students call you? Do you ask them to call you buy your first name? Mr/Ms/Mrs/Miss so-and-so? Do you care? If you're a GTA, is it appropriate for students to use the title "professor"?

 

I'm going to be starting my first year as a GTA, and I was wondering if it would be more appropriate for students to address instructors by their last names, but I know at my undergrad, there were some grad students who preferred to be called by their first name, and I kind of prefer this too.

[juilletmercredi]

They call me by my first name.  I would feel awkward if I insisted on them calling me Ms. Lastname, and I think my students would not only feel awkward but also think it was pretentious of me. But that's also my departmental culture - TAs are just their first name, and even professors go by their first name with some senior undergraduate RAs.

 

I have nothing to compare it to, but I don't think they respect me less just because I go by my first name.

[bedmas]

my students have almost all called me by my first name, and i'm pretty sure i would hate anything else! It might be because I'm still an undergraduate and some of these people are older than me (and they're at most 3 years younger), though. One student called me "Miss" (no last name, just Miss) a couple times and it was suuuper weird, especially considering how... casual I am

[biotechie]

Mine call me by my first name. I have one older student who is just starting her undergrad... She insists on calling me Miss "Lastname" and it is incredibly weird. I guess she has been out of school long enough that she is still stuck in that system of naming teachers.

 

I think for most students, it is more comfortable to call the TA by their first name, and it makes you more approachable to them as their TA. It pulls you closer to what you feel is their level. I have students who would rather ask me for help than to go to the professor.

[Gauche]

What if you're assigned to teach your own class?

[rising_star]

Gauche, it depends more on the department/university culture than whether you teach your own class or are grading for someone else. At my PhD university, grad students always go by their first names. You could try not to but, I think students would be resistant just because that is what they're accustomed to here. By the same token, at my MA university, it was much more common for people to be Ms/Mr LastName, regardless of whether they were teaching labs, grading for someone, or teaching their own class as the instructor of record.

[biotechie]

What if you're assigned to teach your own class?

 

I teach my own lab, and they do call me by first name. I prefer it. Maybe you can write your first and last name on the board the first day and see what they decide to call you? Then you don't have to tell them!

[Dal PhDer]

I always go by my first name...and the professors I've TA'd for always have the students call them by the first name. I do agree that it depends on the culture of the department.

 

Not to change the tread, but what do you do if a students calls you a nickname? I've recently had a situation where a student addressed me with a nickname in an email. Nothing horrible, more like adding a 'y' to my name...I think he was trying to be friendly/endearing...but it made my flags go up. Should I address it? I'm kind of waiting to see if it happens again, I just don't want to get into any trouble over it.

[fuzzylogician]

Not to change the tread, but what do you do if a students calls you a nickname? I've recently had a situation where a student addressed me with a nickname in an email. Nothing horrible, more like adding a 'y' to my name...I think he was trying to be friendly/endearing...but it made my flags go up. Should I address it? I'm kind of waiting to see if it happens again, I just don't want to get into any trouble over it.

I'd reply to the email and sign my name the way I'd like to be called. Hopefully the student will take the hint and you won't have to say anything explicitly.

[toasterazzi]

My department likes the Mr./Ms. thing, so I go with that. I'd probably go by my first name if it were up to me though. I'm actually in a student org that one of my students is in and he calls me by my first name outside of class. He's never gotten mixed up in class which I find moderately surprising hehe

[TakeruK]

It makes the most sense to go with the Department norm, but personally, I prefer first name. I am pretty sure that I want people to call me by my first name in every situation and most academics in my field do this too. 

 

I think that it's symbolically important for everyone in academia to be on a first-name basis, as a symbol of reducing hierarchy in academia (i.e. the idea that an idea should be treated equally in academia no matter if it came from prof or grad student or undergrad) and that we're all equals. The reality is not so, but I think enforcing the Dr./Prof. titles and the Mr./Ms./Mrs. titles will only further distance the faculty and the students. After all, scientific thought is all about challenging ideas and testing them rather than accepting the experts' opinions as fact. If a student is afraid to contradict a professor, it would only hurt academia.

[midwestnorthside]

I agree with TakeruK:

 

It makes the most sense to go with the Department norm, but personally, I prefer first name. I am pretty sure that I want people to call me by my first name in every situation and most academics in my field do this too. 

 

I think that it's symbolically important for everyone in academia to be on a first-name basis, as a symbol of reducing hierarchy in academia (i.e. the idea that an idea should be treated equally in academia no matter if it came from prof or grad student or undergrad) and that we're all equals. The reality is not so, but I think enforcing the Dr./Prof. titles and the Mr./Ms./Mrs. titles will only further distance the faculty and the students. After all, scientific thought is all about challenging ideas and testing them rather than accepting the experts' opinions as fact. If a student is afraid to contradict a professor, it would only hurt academia.

My students address me by my first name. I usually have to remind them not to call me by my last name.

Edited February 25, 2013 by midwestnorthside

[Guest |||]

First name basis

 

 

However, I've been in the awkward position before with professors where I was not certain if they prefered first name, last name, doctor, etc etc.  So, you could do as some do, and tell your students, "Call me as makes you comfortable"

[Tuck]

I think "call me as makes you comfortable" is nice. Some students (especially older students or those from certain cultural groups) won't be comfortable with first names, although I know I would prefer it.

 

My ex-husband called my parents "Mr. and Mrs. Xxxxxx" through our entire marraige, and my aunt's husband does the same with my grandparents (and has for 20 years now).

 

One of my instructors who was a grad student once said we could call her by her first name after visiting her during office hours.  :-)

Edited February 26, 2013 by tuckerma

[snowshoes]

My students call me by my first name.  I usually call everyone else by their first name too, unless they are part of an older demographic and I respect them in a sort of old school way (then I call them, "Dr. so-and-so").

 

When people make a big deal about how they are addressed (specifically, "doctor"), I usually see it as a sign of insecurity.

[stereopticons]

As a TA, I went by my first name, but as an adjunct, I sign emails as "Professor Lastname", and mostly that's what they call me. Occasionally I get Dr., Miss, or Mrs, but they're usually ok with Professor. I don't have my PhD yet, but I am in a position with what I would consider more authority than a TA. My advisor recommended that I have my students (as an adjunct) call me professor, because I am really close to their ages (some of my students are older than me) and there needs to be a clear definition of roles. I don't think it matters that much, and I wouldn't be upset if someone called me by my first name, but I also don't want them to think I'm a pushover. I'm the professor, not their friend.

 

tl;dr: As a TA, first name is fine. It really doesn't matter much.

[rising_star]

stereopticons, I'm actually a bit confused by what you mean about an adjunct being different than being a TA. As a TA, I've taught my own courses four times (responsible for everything including the syllabus and choosing the textbooks). How is that different than being an adjunct?

[stereopticons]

If you're teaching your own courses, then you're not a teaching assistant, though...your'e not assisting anyone but yourself.

 

I think the difference I was getting at, though, is that as an adjunct, I'm not a grad student. My only role at the university is as a faculty member. But like I said, ultimately it doesn't matter much.

[zabius]

As a master's student, I taught several genetics labs on my own (i.e. the supervising professor wasn't normally around). I told my students to just call me by my first name, because anything else would be weird. Most complied, but one student kept calling me "Professor [Firstname]." When I explainer to her that I wasn't actually a professor, she just called me "Mr. [Firstname]." I said that "Mr." was still too formal, so she moved on to "Sir." I get that she was trying to be polite, and had probably been raised to address people in this manner... but it was weird for me. Especially since I was raised in a part of the country where the most common way to address a stranger is, "Hey, you!"

 

Eventually, we compromised... I let her call me "Captain [Firstname]." We both thought it was funny. A couple other students even joined in. I love it when a group of students has a nice sense of humor (now if only their work ethic had been just as good...).

Edited March 8, 2013 by zabius

[RandiZ]

I'm also an adjunct. Our school culture refers to all instructors as "Professor." I'm either Professor Lastname or just professor. I've tried, but students won't call me by my first name.

[11Q13]

I'm an adjunct. Students either call me professor or Mr. Lastname. I would be fine with students calling me by my first name if I wasn't constantly confused for an undergrad.

[clintoncerejo]

They use to address me by Sir Clinton...

[Sconnie]

I currently adjunct as well and I have my students call me by my first name.  Some like it and it creates a more friendly and open atmosphere in class while others still want the formality of it all and refer to me as either professor and in some cases Dr.  I kind of let the students decide what they are most comfortable with and go with it. 

[RxPhD]

First name.

[Arrowfletch]

I introduce myself by first name, so that's what gets used.  I am an undergrad TA right now, so most of my students are near my age and anything more formal seems silly.  In general, though, I prefer going by first name basis anyway, because I like the atmosphere it provides--my favorite professors have always been those who offer their first name, because they seem more approachable and more interested in forming a relationship with their students.  In a larger class, I would still be comfortable going by first name, but only so long as I was the one to suggest it--I do find it disrespectful to address any teacher by their first name before that option is specifically offered.